Blue Jays brass nixes ‘homeless’ T-shirts

BUFFALO When injured Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles went to the trouble of ordering T-shirts for his teammates poking fun at the “homeless Jays,” he certainly wasn’t intending to bring the heat to his team.

But when the gesture that was meant to galvanize the challenges the team has faced offended some, Jays management asked its players not to wear the shirts in public.

The tees — which are not official merchandise, and were not available for sale — were player-driven in response to the Jays’ stadium situation. The Jays are the only team in Major League Baseball not to have a true home park for the abbreviated 2020 campaign after the Canadian government banished them from the Rogers Centre.

The stadium search became even more troublesome when they were turned down by state governments in Pennsylvania and Maryland for proposed sharing arrangements of stadiums in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Finally, the Jays settled on Buffalo’s Sahlen Field, home of their triple-A affiliate Bisons.

When a social media outcry targeted the T-shirts, which depict a cartoon character vagrant as a team mascot, the club asked its players not to wear them in public.

“The Blue Jays take accountability for ensuring negative stereotypes are not perpetuated and for supporting marginalized groups in our community,” the Jays said in a statement. “The club has addressed the issue of the T-shirts with our players and they will not be worn again.”

Though the Jays have been comfortable with the renovations at Sahlen Field, to say they have found a home would be a stretch. The players are staying in a nearby hotel and check out when they leave town for road games.

Just as the T-shirts poked fun at their situation, the team is attempting to make the best of its unique situation by using its lack of a permanent home as a rallying cry.